Madden 17 won't have Johnny Manziel, but we can dream can't we?

CLEVELAND, Ohio - NFL life hasn't been kind to Johnny Manziel (and certainly vice versa). And neither have the creators of the Madden gaming franchise.

Over the previous two editions of the game - "Madden 15" and "Madden 16" - Manziel's ratings have been 77 and 71, respectively. To put that into perspective, the troubled quarterback's 71 rating last year put him behind the likes of Mike Glennon, Matt Flynn, Chad Henne, Christian Ponder, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden, Derek Anderson and Blaine Gabbert.

In fact, Madden 16 didn't think much of any Browns' quarterbacks, giving Brian Hoyer a 73 and Josh McCown a 72. Things aren't any better for Madden 17, out Aug. 23. Starter Robert Griffin III receiving a rating of 73 (same as backups like Hoyer, Geno Smith and A.J. McCarron).

Still, if Manziel were still on the Browns, his rating would probably be even worse. Consider the other three Browns quarterbacks on the roster fall right below RG3 in Madden 17 ratings: McCown (71), Cody Kessler (70) and Austin Davis (69).

Manziel dropped six rating points from Madden 15 to Madden 16 and he'd probably have a ceiling of 70 this year. Given Manziel's offseason troubles, the creators might drop him even further. Josh Gordon's Madden 17 rating is a 76, down from 87 a year ago.

So what would Manziel's rating be if he were still on the Browns? Only the creators of Madden truly know. But we can wager a guess.

Considering Manziel was behind Chad Henne last year, we don't see any reason to change that. Henne has a Madden 17 rating of 69. We also wouldn't put Manziel ahead of somewhat reliable backups like Ryan Mallet (67) or Landry Jones (66).

Therefore, another six point drop sounds about right, putting Manziel's Madden 17 rating at a 65. Of course, you could always create your own version of Johnny Manziel on the game and rate him whatever you want. Just know you'd be lying to yourself and the Madden gaming world.